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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27344182">Patton and the Fantasy Fair (It Is The Nature of Dreams To End)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/my_happy_little_bean/pseuds/my_happy_little_bean'>my_happy_little_bean</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>let’s indulge bean in their slightly low quality, very personal fics [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sanders Sides (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(but a happy ending i would think), Bittersweet Ending, LAMP/CALM - Freeform, Nostalgia, Other, Platonic LAMP - Freeform, a 'crisis by carnival' story essentially lol</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-11-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-07 00:54:05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,543</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27344182</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/my_happy_little_bean/pseuds/my_happy_little_bean</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Virgil had mentioned the Fantasy Fair once, in a conversation that was meant to go nowhere,<br/>and Patton had said the following:</p><p>“ ‘It is the nature of dreams to end’. "</p><p>Or: the one where they all remember that weird amusement park in the middle of a mall; and also, Patton is missing.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Anxiety | Virgil/Creativity | Roman/Logic | Logan/Morality | Patton</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>let’s indulge bean in their slightly low quality, very personal fics [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1887481</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Patton and the Fantasy Fair (It Is The Nature of Dreams To End)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>warnings: mild swearing, nostalgia/dwelling too hard on the past, crying, mention of blood, angst </p><p>a/n- hello! here's another addition to everyone's favourite series,‘let’s indulge bean in their slightly low quality, very personal fics’ — aka the series i write for when i am exclusively procrastinating on writing anything else :p</p><p>today's story is brought to you by a rather haunting return to 'fantasy fair'; a real place i used to go to as a kid (if you search of fantasy fair and woodbine, you'll probably find pictures of what i'm talking about :')) ). it gave me a crisis, so naturally i had to write about it. also this is kind of a response to one of my earliest one shots in this fandom called "a light in every patch of darkness". it just feels a bit related to it, not sure why :')</p><p>finally, this story was inspired by two songs: "julia" by reeder (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roAM0b3o6CU) and a cover of "never never land" by adam melchor (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSQwU5L0tFc&amp;feature=youtu.be). both are great, i would highly recommend listening to them :")</p><p>i hope you find some enjoyment in this weird, midnight ramble of a story. it's rough in a lot of places, but hey! at least it's in this place with you :')</p><p>enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>“I know a place where dreams are born</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span><br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>and time is never planned. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s not any chart, </span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span><br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>you must find it with your heart;</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Never Never Land.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>-*-</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Has anyone seen Patton today?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman lolled his head back against the arm rest he laid against, lowering the book he was reading and giving Virgil an upside-down smirk. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He’s probably in his room,” he announced, as if he was the know-it-all. Virgil raised an eyebrow and Roman huffed, flipping over onto his stomach and pressing his elbow into the arm rest. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Logan?” he called. He pressed his chin in his hand coyly. “Where’s Pat?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well considering there are not many places where we are able to go,” Logan replied from the kitchen, “it is statistically probable that he is in his room.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman waved his hand at Virgil, as if he was using the gesture to say “told you so!”. He flipped onto his back, head once again on the arm rest, and stretched his arms to lift the book above him. Virgil sighed as Roman resumed his reading, tugging on the strings of his hoodie. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I dunno, it just seems unlike him to stay up there for so long.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan crossed in front of him as Virgil rambled, as if his words intrigued him enough to leave whatever task he was finishing in the kitchen.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m just worried, okay?” He scratched the back of his neck absentmindedly. “Are we really just cool with brushing this off as ‘normal’? Like, usually he’s awake before all of us — this morning he wasn’t even here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman’s snide smirk dropped slightly, and he brought his book to his chest. “He wasn’t?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Dude.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What?” Roman sat up slowly, throwing his arms up in an exaggerated defense. Virgil fought the urge to roll his eyes. “Look, everything Patton does is laced with some sort of muscle memory. Plus, it’s not like I’m the observant one or anything.” </span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil looked over at Logan, silently pleading. Logan crossed his arms and pushed up his glasses. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You are both right.” Virgil and Roman exchanged glances as Logan spoke. “Perhaps it would be of our best interests to visit him. Even if he </span>
  <em>
    <span>is</span>
  </em>
  <span> in there, as our suspicions assume, we can at least reaffirm our knowledge.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re going on an adventure then!” Roman sprung from the seat and immediately bounced his way to lead the group towards Patton’s room. “You should’ve just said so, Captain Books!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan rolled his eyes, but followed Roman nonetheless. Before he could leave the living room, he turned around and faced Virgil, who was awkwardly standing in the same place. Logan frowned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Virgil? Is everything alright?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>No. That was the answer, plain and simple. Virgil couldn’t help but stare past Logan and towards Roman, still marching down the hall behind him.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil knew the others couldn’t see it, but Roman was prancing across inky shadows, the trail to Patton’s whereabouts clouded with something he could only describe as a bad feeling. It sent chills down Virgil’s spine as Roman’s feet pressed into each blotch of black smoke, tainting his determined path.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He slipped his hood on and dug his hands in his sweater pockets. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“M’fine.” He spoke carefully, as to not let any echoes crack through his voice. “Let’s just get this over with.” </span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>They stepped into Patton’s room one by one; only because they were each so awestruck by Patton’s room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Fairy lights draped his walls as hazy curtains, woven between picture frames of varying sizes. Each happy face Thomas knew and love was illuminated by the gaze of the lights, each seemingly staring at every memory with a special kind of fondness only Patton truly understood. Stuffed animals and stacks of photo albums were scattered around every surface of his room, which glowed with the same kind of wonder that each Side was in some way familiar with.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, I am already loving this.” Roman clapped his hands together with a smile so dreamy, it made Virgil dizzy. “Padré’s room is the best.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Try and stay focused, Roman,” Logan mumbled, though he was even enthralled by some notebooks sitting on the coffee table he passed through Patton’s room– enough to pick one up and absentmindedly flip through it</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil, however, wanted to do nothing but stay focused. He felt like a strained camera lens, trying to focus too sharply on something, </span>
  <em>
    <span>anything. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>But nothing could draw his attention away from the door on the other side of the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was cracked slightly open, and was seemingly the destination for the secret shadows he followed. They pooled around the floor beneath the door, as if beckoning anyone who noticed it to come inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil had noticed the door before, but never under such a blatant spotlight — and certainly never left open. During the many sleepovers he had spent in Patton’s room, that door was merely a closet; stuffed and silent in the back of his mind and the back of the room. He always assumed it was as messy as Patton’s room already was, so it didn't really matter what kind of mess was inside it. Plus, Patton had reassured Virgil that it was nothing special; that it was just a door.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Just a door my ass, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Virgil thought, taking any semblance of courage he had and pressing to his chest as he dared to march against the current of shadow against his feet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil passed by Logan on his way, who briefly glanced up from the notebook.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Virgil? Where are you–” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stopped right beside Virgil, who stood in front of the door that seemed much taller than he remembered, casting patches of darkness across the floor. Logan frowned.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Strange,” Logan hummed. “I do not believe I have seen this door open before.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Samesies…” Roman drawled, walking up to Virgil’s side as well. Logan didn’t even seem fazed by Roman’s diction. Virgil narrowed his eyes at the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not to be dramatic or anything–”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey! What’s wrong with–” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“–but if we’re looking for answers–” Virgil cleared his throat nervously– ”I think we’re going to find it in here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan and Roman looked at each other as Virgil slowly stepped forward. The shadows on the floor crawled up along the surface of the wood, chasing Virgil’s hand that slowly reached for the door handle. As soon as he made contact with the brass, the shadows squealed, making Virgil tense up as he watched them scatter off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, Emo,” Virgil heard Roman say from behind him. “Thought you weren’t leaning into the dramatics today?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil gulped, and twisted the door handle, pulling the door open with a loud, eerie creak.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Thomas was a kid, his parents used to take him to the Fantasy Fair; a strange, not-so-hidden park on the second floor of a shopping mall they visited every now and then. No one– not even Logan– had ever questioned why there would be a small amusement park inside a shopping mall; all that mattered was that it was there, and that it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>awesome.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Every time Thomas had run under the arch leading to Fantasy Fair, Roman had twisted images in Thomas’ mind of stepping into another world. There were signs just about everywhere, pointing in every direction with that distinct carnival font – the one that reminded Thomas of the font he’d use to write essays, but with playful twists and curls at its ends. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The aesthetics of the Fantasy Fair varied in every spot. The makeshift “streets” that weaved their way around the park were lined with mini street lamps, fake trees, and...dinosaurs, for some reason. Hung from the ceiling were large stars, strung comically from different heights; as well as large, model aircraft—one plane and one rocket ship—that made Thomas and Logan wonder how cool it’d be to fly them. The walls that hugged the whole park were painted as the fronts of colourful houses, with balconies that spilled vibrant flowers and vines from its rails. Between these walls were many small attractions; a carousel ride, small booths with carnival games, the biggest jungle gym he had ever seen– and a ferris wheel. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The ferris wheel was Thomas’ favourite, even if he and Virgil were afraid of heights. Thomas had never understood why he was so drawn to it, but it felt like every corner he turned led to the ferris wheel; as if the world was telling him that the ferris wheel was the most important part, and that he had to follow the path it laid out for him to show him why.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was probably his favourite because it was so bright. Each cabin of the ferris wheel was painted with bright colours, creating a makeshift rainbow as it spun around. There were lights screwed into the metal bars that made up its frame, with its cheerful music reaching every corner of the space and looping so many times, much to Thomas’ (and Roman’s) excitement. It became their favourite song. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the coolest part, in Thomas’ opinion, was that it not only took up the most space on this floor, but on </span>
  <em>
    <span>both </span>
  </em>
  <span>floors of the mall. It was as if someone had carved a hole through the floors of the mall, just wide enough for the ferris wheel to fit in — as if every exception was made for it to be there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thomas loved the feeling of floating to the top in the red cabin—</span>
  <em>
    <span>always the red cabin—</span>
  </em>
  <span>so he could almost touch the skylight, which let light flood into the artificial lights of the indoor park. He loved the feeling of floating down just as much, going beneath the surface of the park and to the first floor, where the world’s creators had installed a small pond, surrounded by animatronic animals and a small waterfall near the front. He always marvelled at how odd it was, stuck smack-dab in the middle of the shoppers’ path, who would stop by and peer over the fence that surrounded the pond to marvel at him back. His nose would be pressed against the cabin’s windows, just trying to get a look at </span>
  <em>
    <span>everything. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Because the park, however small it truly was, seemed so big, with so many things begging to be seen and admired. Thomas filled in the gaps of this world’s story; and in return, it seemed to make every part of his brain happy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Especially Patton. </span>
  <span>It made Patton </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <span> happy.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Holy...shit…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil didn’t even notice that Roman and Logan entered behind him, each walking up to meet his side. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan rubbed his eyes from behind his glasses, staring up at disbelief. “Is this…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fantasy Fair,” Virgil finished for him. The name left his tongue as a breathy sigh, an empty rush of starstruck filling his chest. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Wow</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman frowned, and Virgil noticed him discreetly grasp the hilt of his sword. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I dunno if it’s me or if it’s ‘cause we are technically in Patton’s closet,” Roman said slowly, “but does it seem like...a lot more different than how I remember it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil didn’t even have to respond to show that he agreed. Each of their memories of Fantasy Fair faded in their irises, now a smoke screen reflecting an unfamiliar space. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe it was because they haven’t because they haven’t visited Fantasy Fair since Thomas was 12, but it looked like every friendly spark of joy had abandoned the park; just as Thomas did. The faux-street lamps lining the fake streets lost their glow, and dead moths who were waiting for that light to return were now laying still around its rims. Each bright bulb of light they vaguely remembered were replaced by beams of flickering fluorescent lights, revealing the artificial aura of every attraction. The paint on the walls of fake house-fronts were peeling, and the inviting carnival font was scratched and faded, with cobwebs of now-visible shadows hanging from the bottom edge of each sign. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was as if nostalgia’s double edged sword slashed across the picturesque memory of Fantasy Fair; and used the blood to paint the image of a ghost over it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Remind me to talk to Pat about reconsidering his interior decorating choices,” Roman murmured, slowly walking past Virgil and Logan not letting go of his sword, still bound dutifully to his side. Virgil couldn’t help but pull Logan closer to him as they followed Roman further into the park. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan, rather than pulling his arm back, leaned into his touch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, I was always rather unsettled by the fact that such a fanciful place was just...in the middle of a shopping mall.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Unsettled by a fact. Virgil winced at the tell-tale sign of danger.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As they continued down what they assumed was a familiar path, Virgil dared to look around him and wondered why Patton would hide such a grim version of the world they all loved so dearly. Surely it wasn’t hard to love this park enough that the same memory could exist; yet it was tainted in every corner, a brush of darkness sweeping across every spot. The stars Virgil marvelled at were falling at his feet, shadows chasing the spot of its descent and eating it up before he could even check for any semblance of its past glow. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Floating in the dead air of the world they used to love, was a familiar song; now a distorted and slowed ballad through the static of the speakers:</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“It might be miles beyond the moon,<br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>or right there where you stand.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Just keep an open mind,<br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>and then suddenly you'll find</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Never Never Land</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You’ll have a treasure if you stay there, <br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>more precious far than gold.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>For once you have found your way there, <br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>you never, never grow old.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To Virgil’s surprise, Roman humming along did not make it any better. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I do not understand,” Logan mumbled, still closely tethered to Virgil’s side. “How could all of this exist without us knowing? Better yet, how does it exist like </span>
  <em>
    <span>this?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil, for a brief moment, thought about his room; how these shadows had come to be his haunted friends, whether he liked it or not. Perhaps ‘friends’ wasn’t even the right word; they were just simply </span>
  <em>
    <span>there, </span>
  </em>
  <span>in an existence that ran parallel to his own. He thought of the corners Patton found inviting, ones that Logan found fascinating– even the ones Roman simply just enjoyed. None of those corners would exist without darkness.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe that was the case here. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>For better or for worse, they had ended up at the front of the ferris wheel. Of course. Logan cleared his throat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Patton?” he called out, his voice a sharp echo in the midst of the slow, out-of-tune piano that filled the space. Virgil’s grasp on Logan’s arm tightened. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then, the ferris wheel came to life. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Slowly but surely, its rusted wheel began to spin. The light bulbs lining its frame flickered, hazy remnants of a familiar glow. Virgil could hear the animatronic animals he used to find comfort in moan; a sound that seemingly came from the hole that the ferris wheel broke through, which was now filled with a pit of black. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Lifted out of the darkness were the ferris wheel cabins; once coloured all shades of the rainbow, now darkened and saturated to an unrecognizable extent. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And in one of these cabins was <em>Patton</em>, <br/>
</span>
  <span>who peered out his window</span>
</p><p>
  <span>with tears of glitter and gold streaming down his cheeks.</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>Virgil had mentioned the Fantasy Fair once, in a conversation that was meant to go nowhere,<br/>
</span>
  <span>and Patton had said the following:</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“ ‘It is the nature of dreams to end’. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Logan told me that once, after I started having these nightmares of Fantasy Fair. I think they started after the mall security cop dressed as a clown for Halloween, and we ran into him near the carousel. Remember how much it freaked you out?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Surprisingly, Virgil did not. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, I guess that proves my point then,” Patton laughed sadly when he told him. “We never went back to Fantasy Fair after that, and the life that existed before we left got stuck there; all frozen in an ice cube that would never melt.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He averted his glance from Virgil.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I say that the nightmares started after that clown, but I actually think they started a few months before that,” Patton admitted. “Thomas had just turned 12, and his parents offered to take him to Fantasy Fair for his birthday. You know what he said?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Yes. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Guilt clawed at Virgil’s chest.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He said no.” Patton shook his head. “Said he was ‘too old’ for things like that.” In a more hushed voice, he added, “Whatever that means.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He stared at the plastic stars on his ceiling. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We used to dream of Fantasy Fair, every night,” Patton murmured. “The lights, the song, the ferris wheel– I used to be able to build an exact replica of the park in my mind. And in this park we dreamt of, there were no lines for the ferris wheel, and the park extended far above the skylight.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil frowned at the way the words left his lips in a strangely bittersweet way. Patton, on the other hand, smiled, rolling his head to the side, away from Virgil’s sight; </span>
  <em>
    <span>towards his closet door.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t think I remember it the same way now,” Patton murmured, his eyes—from Virgil’s point of view—still fixated on who knows what. “The lights aren’t as bright, and the song is not as wonderful.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton sighed. “I saw a flash of the colourful life Thomas had grown in, and…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil watched as Patton rolled his head over to face him once more, his eyes now twinkling with a soft, golden shine. Patton sadly smiled.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And then the dream ended.”</span>
</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>
  <span>There were a lot of things Virgil could say to Patton. In fact, Patton had probably already heard a majority of those things before.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“The past is never coming back.” </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“You can only live in the present.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Everything is changing.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>But in this strange, abandoned park—in this strange, abandoned dream—it suddenly made sense why Patton had clung so desperately to the past, and why he refused to let go. The present was merely a skeleton for the past, which harboured the light and life within it. And without at least acknowledging it, all you really have is a dead, empty shell. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton so desperately wanted to animate the skeleton by using the only thing he had: memories. Memories of when his family was so close, where every part of Thomas was loved for a specific and obvious reason. There was no darkness, and there were no greys; just bright, sunny skies. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>However, there was truth to the familiar attempts of reassurance. Everything </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>changing. Virgil could feel it shifting in his bones; Thomas was </span>
  <em>
    <span>growing</span>
  </em>
  <span>. And with growth, there was abandonment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The dream Patton built was a desperate attempt to cling onto the bright memories of his family. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But with all of them so frequently divided, <br/>
</span>
  <span>the dream had ended.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil met Patton’s golden stare, and then at the absence of light behind it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And he pushed past Roman and Logan, using all his might to leap towards Patton’s cabin and grabbing the long, metal handle of his door with both hands.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Virgil!” Logan exclaimed, chasing after him as Virgil was lifted off the ground slowly, his heart racing as his grasp on the cabin door handle tightened. The added weight of Logan now holding onto his ankle certainly didn’t help, and he could imagine Roman would not hesitate to add to this chain. Virgil tightened his grasp even more; he couldn’t afford to be the weak link now, </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He focused his attention to Patton, with sparkling tears lining his now-widened eyes. He was silent, and afraid. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please</span>
  <em>
    <span>,”  </span>
  </em>
  <span>Virgil pleaded, finding his voice beneath layers of the same fear. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>It’s not over yet.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton brought his hands to his mouth and let out a sob so loud, Virgil could hear it from behind the door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then suddenly, the door swung open, Virgil nearly swinging with it. However, he managed to let go just in time for Patton to grab his hand, pulling him and Logan and Roman with an impossible amount of strength. Virgil didn’t question it, though; it made sense that Patton could carry them all. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They all poured onto the floors of the cabin, the door now closed and the song muffled behind it. They each gasped for breath, filling in the silence in the air.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Virgil waited. He waited for the right words to come from Logan, or the reassuring serenade that Roman would, with no hesitation, deliver. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But when none of that came, he simply stood up, <br/>
</span>
  <span>and sat beside Patton.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Eventually, they all found a seat in the cramped ferris wheel cabin, quietly tearing up at the sight outside their window that they forgot they even shared.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And as they were lifted into the air, they grazed the surface of skylight; </span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>now letting in a small droplet of sun.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>-*-</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“So come with me where dreams are born, <br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>and time is never planned. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Just think of lovely things<br/>
</span>
  </em>
  <em>
    <span>and your heart will fly on wings, </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>forever in Never Never land.”</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>comments/kudos/random letters/whatever are great! you can find me on my tumblr, @my-happy-little-bean :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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